grammar

The pronunciation of words by computers has gotten a lot better — at least in the movies. One of the latest futurist films — Ex Machina — has actress Alicia Vikander as the voice of the humanoid robot Ava.

Meanwhile, in the real world, computer voices such as those used for Siri, Cortana and Google Now don't seem to be able to say some words correctly.

If you’ve ever driven down the highway and spotted a sign with a misplaced apostrophe or seen syntax so teeth-grindingly bad you almost ran off the road, then this next commentary will be music to your ears. Darlene Mazzone tells us that, for her, writing is every bit the art form, one all the more beautiful when the grammar is good.

Call me old. NO WAIT, do not call me old.

Call me a grammatical geek . . . or a literary luddite. Call me a wordsmith who chooses to use the purest linguistic alloys.